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This Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini is the best any night of the week family dinner. We’re taking tortellini and making it even better, with a rich and creamy roasted red pepper sauce and fresh burrata cheese. Each cute little tortellini has delicious, cozy winter flavors that melt in your mouth. It’s the creamiest bowl of cheese tortellini that’s fancy enough for the weekend, but easy enough to make any night of the week. And most importantly, it’s delicious!
Currently, I’m in a rotation of four food groups, Asian, Indian, Mexican, and then every once in a while…a random Italian recipe gets thrown into the mix.
I’m not sure what’s going on with my family, but we’ve all been wanting a good amount of Asian and especially Indian-inspired recipes. In fact, as I type this, I have golden rice and curry cooking away on the stove for yet another family dinner. Everyone has really taken a liking to dishes with lots of flavor and spice.
Honestly, my brothers have all been surprising me with what they’ve been requesting. They’ve really come such a long way from their chicken and rice days. I’ve found I’m actually enjoying cooking for everyone these days. It’s a lot of work, but we don’t always get to be together. So I’m taking advantage of this time and testing out as many recipes as I can on these guys. The one thing about brothers is that they’ll always tell it to you like it is…
If they love something, they really LOVE it.
And if something is not that great, I’m going to hear about it. Not in a mean way, but in a, “yeah, that wasn’t my favorite” kind of way.
Anyway, in an effort to switch things up a bit, I thought I’d make some easy Italian style pasta.
Originally this was just going to be a roasted red pepper pasta, because the other two things I’m currently obsessed with are red peppers and red Fresno peppers. But then I opened the fridge and saw one lingering box of cheese tortellini. I decided that while roasted red pepper pasta sounded good, roasted red pepper cheese tortellini sound even better.
And that’s how I finally came to make the simplest cheesy, red pepper tortellini.
Here are the quick details.
To give the sauce a bit of extra flavor, I decided to cook up the shallots and garlic in a little olive oil before pureeing them with the roasted red peppers. Pureeing the shallots, garlic, and peppers will leave you with a silky smooth red pepper sauce.
Once you have the sauce made, this comes together in minutes. You’ll want to cook up a little tomato paste, add a splash of vodka, then stir in the red pepper sauce. For the vodka, I pretty much always add a splash to most of my tomato-based pasta sauces. I find that it perfectly highlights all the flavors within the sauce. Of course, if you don’t use or drink vodka, you can easily just use water or broth.
Once the sauce is in the pan, add a little cream and fresh baby spinach. Let that simmer over low heat while you cook the tortellini.
For the tortellini, I used a cheese tortellini from Whole Foods, but use any kind of tortellini flavor you love.
Then toss the pasta with the sauce, add fresh parmesan cheese, and that’s that. Simple. Simple.
But wait, there is one extra special touch.
Serve this cheesy tortellini up with a ball of fresh burrata cheese. It adds a layer of creaminess to each and every bowl of pasta and it’s delicious with a sprinkling of fresh basil.
Yummm. And super easy. Perfect for just about any night of the week. And for me personally, I’m actually beyond excited to make this again today on Instagram stories. It feels like an exciting Wednesday night dinner.
Cannot wait!
Looking for more quick pasta dinner? Here are a few to try:
Crispy Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Pesto Pasta
Roasted Broccoli Pasta Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto and Whipped Ricotta
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 573 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup vodka (or water)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
- 8 ounces burrata cheese, at room temperature
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for cooking the tortellini. Now add the red peppers to a food processor or blender. 2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook until the shallots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the mix to the food processor or blender with the red peppers. Puree until smooth. 3. Set the same skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes, cook 4 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the vodka, cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the red pepper sauce, cream, parmesan, spinach, and basil. Season with salt and pepper.4. Cook the tortellini according to package directions until al dente. Drain, then toss with the red pepper sauce.5. Divide the tortellini between plates and top with burrata and fresh basil. Eat and enjoy immediately.
This was amazing! I only had half the amount of the jarred red peppers, so I added crushed tomatoes to make up the difference. I used an onion because I was out of shallots. I served it over gluten free linguine, but I could just eat spoonfuls of this, and I did. I don’t imagine my substitutions made much difference but in the next go round I will have all the ingredients on hand. It could only be better and at that I can’t imagine how you could improve on perfection. Don’t skip the cheese on top, I didn’t have the balls, just the large ball so I tore it in pieces. My hubby raved about it, and even more so on day 2. Perfect quick recipe if you have everything on hand. My husband said it’s birthday dinner worthy. I served some garlic and white wine scallops on the side but was perfect without any “meat” as well. Thanks for another keeper!
Hey Angela,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed! Love all of your notes! xT
Delicious entree! Used half & half, and it worked just fine. Had a 20oz bag of fresh pasta, so I used all of it and added just a bit more liquid to the sauce. Will definitely be making this again!
Hi Anita,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great holiday weekend! 🇺🇸🎆 xT
This recipe is a real winner we make it bi-weekly! My kids 4 and 6 love it too! Great flavors, quick and easy!
Hi Erin,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you making it! Thanks for your comment! xT
Made it and everyone loved it. Thanks!
Hey Debbie,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
Just made this sauce tonight. I needed to make some minor changes, but my husband loved it. (I did too.) we will definitely make it again. Thanks!
Hey Brenda,
Happy Friday!!❤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was delish! xT
Absolutely delicious sauce and surprisingly quick to prepare.
I had only thai basil which, I left out as I felt was too strong tasting..Two tsp peppers were good for me but too much “ bite” for my husband . Great recipe !
Hey Claire,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
I have made this recipe so many times and my family loves it! So easy to follow and can’t mess it up.
Hey Naomi,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xT
First recipe I’ve made from this website and it was wonderful! It’s was easy to make and my family loved it. Thank you I look forward to making more recipes!
Hey Kayla,
Happy Friday! ☃️ So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
This looks great! Can I use the leftover roasted red pepper sauce from your Italian sliders recipe? If so, how much would you recommend using?
Hey Lynn,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I would use a cup or so! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Love this recipe and want to make again for family beach trip! Do you think I could make sauce ahead of time and freeze for less fuss on vacation? Thank you for your beautiful recipes!
Yes totally! The sauce would be just fine for you to freeze:) xT
Hi! Can I make the sauce the night before?
Thanks!
Hey Kris,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
I make this all the time. It yummyalish!
Delish! Swapped linguine bc I had it, and paired it with the chicken from your lemon pepper Cajun chicken Alfredo recipe! Served leftover pasta and sauce the next night with crab cakes. Makes an amazing crab cake sauce! Repeat recipe for sure!
Hey Kristen,
Happy Sunday! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it:) ?
This is my go-to when I need a fast and delicious recipe. I’ve already made it twice! It’s definitely made it’s way onto my dinner rotation list. Highly recommend it’s so good!!
Hey Teresa,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xT
Made this last night. wonderful! It was as easy to make as delicious!
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes.
Hey Betzy,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was a winner! xxT